portablog…

To say that Charlie Wilkins was a great man is not quite enough.  He was so much more than the 5 letters that spell great.  Charlie Wilkins was the kind of man every man wanted to be.  He was the friend everyone wanted to know.  He was the father everyone wanted to have.  He was the employee everyone wanted to work with.  He was the coach everyone wanted to play for.  He was the mentor everyone wanted to learn from.  He was the pastor everyone wanted to hear.  He was so much more that words can hardly define.

I’ve known Charlie Wilkins since my freshman year in high school at Westminster High in 1990-91.  Actually, it started that summer before, when I was invited to attend the Lions’ basketball summer camp.  Charlie was there with head coach, Richard Katz.  With the help of some of the older players, they tutored the young players and incoming freshmen on the basics of the game.  There wasn’t much contact with the bigtime varisty coaches at the time for me, I was a mere freshman and I was okay with that.  But I couldn’t help but feel that with Coach Katz and Charlie, there was something special that I would eventually become a part of.

Unfortunately, I never got to play directly under the coaching of Coach Katz and Charlie, for they moved onto coaching the girls after my freshman year.  I did manage to be able to work with Charlie and Coach Katz after my high school graduation when I was asked to help coach the girls’ team in 1997.  For 7 years, I coached side by side with Charlie and felt his magic.  The way he not only dealt with the team and players, but just how he managed to captivate your attention, without seeming to have to try.  There are too many memories to write about and they are all jumbled at the moment because of the emotion of the past week so it would be difficult for me to portray any memory in good detail at this time.

Many times, we take what we have for granted and don’t always realize what we have.  Thinking back now, I can see so many more occasions where I can remember how Charlie was and just how simply wonderful it was to be able to coach and be friends with Charlie.  Back then, it may have just been another day.  Now, they are memories to be cherished and even learned from.

For those who managed to cross paths with Charlie, they may understand what I’m about to proclaim.  My father and grandfather are the 2 greatest men I know.  My father does everything for me and my family and never hesitates.  He has even taught me many things just by his actions, no words needed.  My grandfather risked his life and the lives of his entire family to bring them to a better world.  He only was able to enjoy this new world for a couple years before he had to leave us, but I remember his greatness despite being only 6 years old.  Charlie, he ranks number 3 in my book of great men.  Even now that he has passed on, he is still remembered, loved, and still is great.

I have used those 5 letters in the word great a lot in this posting… and yet, somehow, I still feel I have not conveyed my message well enough.  But for someone like Charlie, I’m not sure that there are any amount of letters in any combination that can really tell the full story.

“Sometimes, kids do that darndest things!”  That’s a saying I’m sure we’ve all heard before and it has been said many times.  Sometimes, it’s been said for things they do that we deem bad, other times, it’s been said about good or cute things.

Here is Tiffany’s nephew, Ian.  Doing one of those things at a random Chinese restaurant.  See for yourself below.

Video taken by Nokia N82.

Well, the Vegas trip ended up being quite interesting with many twists and turns – not the kind that Vegas usually throws at you, but others before, during and after the trip!  Needless to say that it didn’t end up being the trip that we planned on, but was a good getaway nonetheless.

Starting with some funky changes to our hotel reservations (which ended up with us staying at the Monte Carlo for free) to having my sister-in-law show up there with her entire family (4 kids all under 10!), it was quite an adventure.  We did have some great eats at Mandalay Bay for their Sunday Champagne Brunch and I had a $13 hamburger.  Add all that with the strange blowout of a championship game between Michigan State and UNC and it was definitely a trip to remember.

On a side note, I actually had 3 of the 4 teams picked in the Final Four this year… amazingly enough – including having both teams in the championship game picked.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the winner picked, but I like Roy Williams and UNC, so it wasn’t much of a loss on my part.  I’m not even a big Mich. St. fan, but just the fact that I had chosen them on a whim and they were such a big underdog, that I had to go and cheer for them, just that one day.

So, hopefully Tiffany doesn’t read this and none of you tells her, but there is a netbook on the way.  After seeing her old laptop causing her fits the past month, I decided that it’s time.  She can either take my MacBook or the netbook that is coming.

I did a lot of research and it seems that the best bang for my bucks will be the Asus EEEpc 1000HE.  The MSI Wind and the HP Mini as well as the Lenovo S10 crossed my mind.  It was a tough choice, but too many reviews online stated that the 1000HE had a better build and better overall performance.  I will do a review after we have received it and “broken it in”.

Well, the weekend is slowly sneaking up on us and that means 2 things for me – Las Vegas and The Final Four!

The Final Four has proven me wrong again, however I did pick Michigan State to win the whole thing and they look like they have as good of a chance as any of the other 3.  My pick of PITT being one of the #1′s to survive was wrong however, although I did have ‘Nova playing against them.

We have decided on the Luxor for our hotel, Tiffany (my wife) has never been there and it is definitely a unique experience.  We’ll see how this weekend plays out.